“I’m not black, I’m not white, not foreign…just different in the mind ­
different brains, that’s all…”

Billy

Jennifer Venditti's debut film is the provocative coming-of-age story BILLY
THE KID, an odyssey into the soul of an American teenager. Following Billy
as he bicycles through the quiet streets of small town Maine, we watch him
traverse the frustrating gap between imagination and reality, grappling
with isolation and first-time young love. By turns exhilarating and disturbing
we see the world from the intimate view of an expressive and seemingly fearless
outsider.

LONG
SYNOPSIS

“’The future is not written. There’s no fate except what we make for ourselves.’”

Billy (quoting from The Terminator)

A contemporary documentary, BILLY THE KID begins as an intimate portrait
that quickly expands into broader social observation of teenage self-discovery;
both the darkest and brightest places in youth. Shot over eight days over
two seasons, summer and winter, the film uses a trans-genre, verité approach
in which the subject seems to be directing the movement of the film as equally
as the filmmakers behind the camera.

Jennifer Venditti stumbled upon Billy while casting Carter Smith’s short
film, BUGCRUSH, from non-actor high school students in rural Maine. Intrigued
by his eccentric wisdom and pop-infused intuition and sensibility, Venditti
decided to include Billy along with other everyday heroes that she had encountered
through her casting career in what she initially imagined as a multi-voiced
documentary on iconoclastic characters. Filming began with a mini-dv camera
and fellow BUGCRUSH alum actor Donald Cumming as DP. Venditti and he traveled
up to Maine to capture moments from the precocious teen’s everyday life.
Unfazed by the wireless microphone that he faithfully wore each day, Billy
allowed Venditti and Cumming to follow him and witness the highs and lows
of school, taunting from bullies and the colorful locals of Main Street,
as well as intimate emotional discussions with his mother.

In the midst of shooting, Billy serendipitously crosses paths with his crush
Heather at the local diner, and the film takes an unexpected turn as the
filmmakers track the nuances of first-time teenage love and its aftermath.
Billy shares intimate and acute observations about himself and those around
him without restriction. Penny, Billy’s mother, proves to be a valiant touchstone.
She shares their difficult history with Billy’s addicted, abusive biological
father and we see glimpses of how Billy’s attitude towards women was shaped
by his inability to protect his own mother when he was a child. His fantasy
world is similarly constructed from heroic desires to overcome demons from
their shared past and prevail.

BILLY THE KID is the coming of age journey of a teenage outsider who confronts
obstacles with courage and awareness. He struggles to define himself apart
from his past and others’ notions of who he is. The film challenges viewers
to look beyond labels and to contemplate the undetermined future of a teen.

DIRECTOR’S
STATEMENT

You might say I'm a sucker for the underdog. I have always looked for beauty
in the unconventional. My work is unusual in that I interview people continuously
while maintaining a relatively normal schedule. I cast projects that look
beyond the scope of traditional or existing talent pools. I’ve probably
interviewed 10,000 people, maybe more and I always thought one day I would
explore in feature form the most expressive of these people, and it was
nearly accidental how Billy became the subject of this film.

I first met Billy when I was scouting a high school in Maine to cast real
kids as extras for a film. I sat in the lunchroom for several days, marveling
at the particular cliques and wondering if any kids ever tried sitting with
anyone different. I filmed a table of bullies who described a scenario when
they invited a new victim to their table. Apparently, the kid freaked out
at the way he was treated. As they all laughed, I asked who this kid was,
and they pointed across the room at a boy sitting by himself. “Over there,"
they said, "His name is Billy.”

I was both awed by and uneasy with his personality; he was so completely
open and without boundaries. When I asked teachers about him, they used
phrases like 'emotional disabilities,' 'extreme caution' and 'special learning
environment'. Other students seemed either jealous that I was so fascinated
by him, or concerned that he was so volatile. The more I was warned away
from him, the more I wanted to know. I cast him, of course, and came back
a few months later to learn more and shoot some footage of my own. This
footage turned into Billy The Kid.

As I drove back to the city after shooting for five days, the one thing
I couldn't get out of my head was Billy saying, "Sometimes the imaginative
world's much better than the real world, but there's one difference: Imagination
ain't real!" By courage or necessity, Billy had created a technique to help
him survive in an environment of pain, conformity, and labels. Pop culture
superheroes became his source of confidence. I saw a kid who unknowingly
made brilliant, wise comments that were fleeting and overlooked by his community,
a young, modern day Don Quixote.

In making the film, I wanted to pass along to an audience the feeling I
had when I was with Billy, while many adults were amazed and patient with
him, a majority were suspicious, alarmed and cautious. My urge to figure
out what was wrong with him was quickly replaced by uncomplicated appreciation
and empathy. Every day we were laughing and crying along with Billy, tethered
so readily to his feelings and perceptions. You might say we began filming
as outsiders and ended as insiders. We saw his mother Penny being his only
real friend but someone too close to his emotional gravity. While I conducted
several interviews with teachers, students, family members and specialists,
I ultimately threw them out in favor of Billy's voice. He tells the story
himself, by being himself. All we have to do is experience Billy while he
responds to a painful and riveting childhood, first time love, and life
as an outcast.

For me this is a moment in time, in my life as well. With Billy up on screen,
in the dark, I am interested in a life in progress, capturing a moment during
this coming-of-age time when his thoughts, dreams, and actions are still
actively designing his future. Like Billy, I too believe that the imaginative
world can become reality. Ultimately, I feel Billy’s journey is connected
to all of our journeys, and that what we strive for, no matter how different
we seem, is the same: perceptions, acceptance, understanding, and love.

Jennifer Venditti, May 2007

BIOS

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER JENNIFER VENDITTI makes her directorial
debut with BILLY THE KID. Venditti started her New York City based casting
agency JV8INC in 1998. Traveling all over the world, street scouting real
people for advertising, fashion, and film she discovers an inspired repertoire
of diverse talent otherwise ignored by traditional casting methods. Photographers
Richard Avedon and Bruce Weber and director Spike Jonze are just a few who
have been impassioned by her refined aesthetic. It is her interest in finding
the beauty in everyday heroes that provided her natural transition into
filmmaking. While casting Carter Smith’s short film BUGCRUSH (Sundance Short
Film Winner 2006) in a rural Maine high school, Venditti discovered Billy
Price whose unique and winning character inspired her feature documentary.
For more information: www.jv8inc.com

PRODUCER CHIEMI KARASAWA founded Isotope Films in 2005
to produce content for feature films based on non-fiction sources as well
as independent documentary films. Her career includes over 15 years working
in film, television and commercial production with such notable directors
as Spike Jonze (ADAPTATION), Jim Jarmusch (GHOSTDOG, COFFEE & CIGARETTES),
Larry Clark (KIDS), Spike Lee (SUMMER OF SAM), Steven Frears (HIGH FIDELITY),
and in episodic television (THE SOPRANOS, SEX IN THE CITY, ED). She recently
produced Katja Esson’s A SEASON OF MADNESS (Woodstock & Austin Film Festivals
2006, Florida Film Festival 2007 ), and is currently producing a feature
film directed by John Turturro.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DONALD CUMMING is a Renaissance
man. As a filmmaker, Cumming has shot, directed, and edited many of his
own short films. BILLY THE KID marks his debut camera work on a feature
length film. An actor and also a model, Cumming was featured in Carter Smith’s
BUGCRUSH (Sundance Short Film Winner 2006) and has also worked with such
acclaimed photographers as Peter Lindbergh, Terry Richardson, and Ryan McGinley.
Cumming will also release a debut album with his band THE VIRGINS later
this year on Atlantic Records.

EDITOR MICHAEL LEVINE most recently edited Amir Bar Lev’s
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT (2007). He also edited Bennett Miller’s debut documentary
THE CRUISE (1998) a feature length portrait about Tim “Speed” Levitch, an
eccentric NYC Tour Bus guide. Levine has worked with Ken Burns (THE WEST,
BASEBALL), Dan Klores’ BOYS OF 2nd STREET PARK (2003) and RING OF FIRE:
THE EMILE GRIFFITH STORY (2005), as well as FACTORY GIRL with Sienna Miller.